Rumors connecting the Rangers to Phillies ace Cole Hamels have been circulating for months, dating back to Yu Darvish’s Tommy John surgery. However, a club source tells MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan that such an acquisition is improbable. “If we were going to do that trade, we would have already done it by now,” said Sullivan’s source. There’s currently “no traction” between the two clubs, Sullivan hears.

Similarly, when asked about the team’s approach to buying or selling at this year’s deadline, GM Jon Daniels told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson: “…I don’t think you’re going to see us on either extreme end. My mind-set is always wanting to add to the club and always wanting to win, but you’ve got to pay attention to the realities of the standings.”

The Rangers, according to Sullivan, dislike Hamels’ contract as well as the asking price in terms of prospects. Previous reports linking the two sides had noted that Philadelphia covets catching prospect Jorge Alfaro and outfield prospect Nomar Mazara, though Mazara’s stock, in particular, has risen in 2015. The 20-year-old is slashing .285/.361/.446 with 10 homers at Double-A in 2015, despite being quite young for the level. That strong play landed him 34th on Baseball America’s midseason Top 50 prospects list and as high as sixth on Keith Law’s new list a ESPN.com.

Two players who very well could become available, however, are Wandy Rodriguez and Carlos Corporan, Sullivan reports. Texas is open to moving Corporan and pairing Tomas Telis with Robinson Chirinosbehind the dish. As for Rodriguez, multiple teams have told the Rangers that they consider the veteran lefty a fallback option if they’re unable to secure other targets in trades.

The fate of Yovani Gallardo, Sullivan writes, will be determined closer to the trade deadline. The Rangers won’t want to move him if they’re still in the hunt for the division title, but poor performances in pre-deadline matchups against the Angels and Astros could cause him to become available.

If Texas performs well in those two intra-division series, however, it does remain possible that Daniels and his staff will make some incremental moves to bolster the roster. Wilson lists a right-handed bat to balance out the lineup (noting that someone of Justin Upton’s caliber simply is not realistic) as well as another reliable reliever to pair with closer Shawn Tolleson and solid rookie setup man Keone Kela. Daniels himself mentioned earlier this week that the Rangers would pursue such targets.

11:08am: The deal is official, per Rangers executive VP of communications John Blake (via Twitter). To create roster space, the club designated righty Gonzalez Germen, who was acquired only yesterday.

9:40am: The Rangers have agreed to a deal to acquire backstop Carlos Corporan from the Astros, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports on Twitter. Corporan was designated for assignment yesterday to create roster space for the signing of Colby Rasmus. Righty Akeem Bostick is headed to the Astros in return, Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram tweets.

Corporan, 31, is set to earn $975K in his first season of arbitration eligibility. That means that he’ll come with two more years of control. His role was occupied by trade acquisition Hank Conger, and the presence of the younger Max Stassi rendered Corporan a largely redundant piece for Houston.

The switch-hitter should, however, be more useful for a Rangers club whose big league options included Robinson Chirinos, who had never even seen 100 plate appearances in a big league season before last year, along with largely untested 23-year-old Tomas Telis and minor league non-roster invite Chris Gimenez.

Last year, Corporan put up a .235/.302/.376 slash and six home runs over 190 trips to the plate. That line is fairly representative of Corporan’s offensive profile in the majors: low-average, low-OBP, solid power. In a backup role in Houston, he has rated out as a reasonably capable option behind the dish.

Bostick, 19, was a (below-slot) second round pick out of high school in 2013. He seems a nice return for a player who was in DFA limbo, though Corporan’s market was surely active before he technically lost his roster spot. Bostick struggled to a 5.18 ERA in 92 Class A frames last year, though that may have been a somewhat aggressive assignment. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs included him at the tail end (27th) of his recent list of the most promising Rangers prospects, explaining that Bostick has plenty of raw talent but is in need of refinement.

Corporan, 31, batted .235/.302/.376 with six homers in 190 plate appearances for Houston last year. Over the past three seasons, he’s batted .237/.297/.383 with 17 homers in 485 PAs. That line should give some kind of rough expectation for the type of production that Corporan can provide — questionable on-base skills with respectable pop for a catcher. (His .146 isolated power in that time is 11 points better than the league-average catcher in 2014.)

From a defensive standpoint, Corporan has typically graded out very well in terms of pitch-framing, and his 25.5 percent caught-stealing rate over the past three seasons is merely a tick below the league average of 27 percent. Corporan is arbitration eligible for the first time this winter and projects to earn a very reasonable $1MM. He can be controlled through the 2017 season.

Soto, of course, is no stranger to the Rangers organization, having spent parts of the past three seasons in Texas. With the Rangers, he’s batted a combined .223/.287/.401, displaying the same low-OBP, above-average pop skill set that Corporan has brought to the table. He’s thrown out a superior 28.6 percent of runners in the past three seasons, though his once strong framing grades have declined, per Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner.com.

It seems then, based on these targets, that the Rangers are comfortable without a big-name catcher behind the dish after missing out on a notable name yesterday in the form of Evan Gattis, who was traded to the Astros. Any catcher acquired by Texas would pair with Robinson Chirinos, whose 338 PAs were far and away a career-high last season for an injury-plagued Rangers club. Chirinos hit .239/.290/.415 with 13 homers in that time.

The Astros announced that they’ve designated catcher Carlos Corporan for assignment in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Colby Rasmus.

The 31-year-old Corporan hit .235/.302/.376 with six homers in 190 plate appearances for Houston last year. Over the past three seasons, he’s proven himself to be a competent defender (in terms of pitch-framing and throwing out base stealers) while exhibiting low batting average and OBP marks with respectable pop for a catcher.

Of late, Corporan has drawn trade interest from the Rangers, so it certainly seems possible that Houston will be able to move him before he must be exposed to outright waivers. Given Texas’ interest, I’d imagine that, at the very least, a deal for cash considerations could be reached, if not a trade to send a minor leaguer to Houston in exchange for Corporan’s services (be it from the Rangers or another club).

Corporan was arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason and agreed to a one-year, $975K deal with Houston just last Thursday. That might take away a bit of his trade value, although that sum is largely negligible for a big league club that would have interest in trading for him.

The Indians and left-hander Marc Rzepczynski have agreed to a one-year, $2.4MM contract to avoid arbitration, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Rzepczynski surpassed his projected salary with the contract, as he was pegged to earn $1.9MM next season. The southpaw posted a 2.74 ERA, 2.42 K/BB rate and an even 46 strikeouts over 46 innings out of Cleveland’s bullpen last season.

The Athletics and outfielder Craig Gentry agreed to a one-year, $1.6MM deal to avoid arbitration, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi tweets. Gentry was projected to earn $1.5MM. After posting a .759 OPS over 556 PA in 2012-13, Gentry took a step back at the plate last season, slashing just .254/.319/.289 over 258 plate appearances but still providing tremendous defense (a +16 UZR/150).

The Nationals have avoided arbitration with second baseman Danny Espinosa, agreeing to a one-year, $1.8MM contract, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports. This deal falls below Espinosa’s projected $2.3MM contract, though Espinosa hit .219/.283/.351 in 364 plate appearances for the Nats last season and managed only a .465 OPS in 167 PA in 2013.

The Indians agreed to a one-year, $2.337MM deal with right-hander Carlos Carrasco, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter). This figure is a significant increase over the $1.4MM contract that was projected for Carrasco in his first arb-eligible year. The righty enjoyed a breakout 2014 season, posting a 2.55 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 4.83 K/BB rate over 134 innings with the Tribe. Carrasco pitched mostly out of the bullpen but also delivered several quality starts down the stretch.

The Dodgers and outfielder Chris Heisey agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.16MM to avoid arbitration, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. This is slightly less than the $2.2MM Heisey was projected to earn. Heisey is coming off a .222/.265/.378 slash line over 299 PA with the Reds last season and was dealt to L.A. last month.

The Angels inked catcher Drew Butera to a one-year, $987.5K deal to avoid arbitration, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. Butera was projected to earn $900K next season. The catcher posted a .555 OPS in 192 PA with the Dodgers last season and was dealt to the Halos last month.

The Cardinals agreed to a one-year, $1.65MM deal with outfielder Peter Bourjos to avoid arbitration, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Bourjos was projected to earn $1.6MM. Bourjos displayed his usual top-shelf defense with the Cards last season but only hit .231/.294/.348 over 294 PA.

The White Sox agreed to an arbitration-avoiding deal with right-hander Nate Jones, CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes reports (Twitter link). Jones will earn $660K in 2015, slightly above his projected $600K salary. The righty only faced five batters last season (failing to record an out) and after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July, he’ll be sidelined for much of 2015 as well.

The White Sox and right-hander Hector Noesi agreed to a one-year, $1.95MM deal to avoid arbitration, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. Noesi was projected to earn $1.95MM. Noesi pitched 166 of his 172 1/3 innings in 2014 with Chicago, posting a 4.39 ERA in 28 games (27 of them starts) for the Pale Hose.

The Angels have avoided arbitration with left-hander Cesar Ramos by agreeing to a one-year, $1.312MM contract, Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times reports. This is just slightly above Ramos’ $1.3MM projected salary.

The Angels and southpaw Hector Santiago have avoided arbitration by settling on a one-year, $2.29MM deal, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports (Twitter link). Santiago was projected to earn $2.2MM in the wake of a solid 2014 season that saw him post a 3.75 ERA over 127 1/3 IP.

The Astros and Carlos Corporan have settled on a one-year, $975K deal to avoid arb, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Corporan, who was recently linked to the Rangers as a trade target, had projected to earn $1MM. The 31-year-old batted .235/.302/.376 with six homers in 190 plate appearances for Houston last year.

Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports (Twitter link) that the White Sox and Javy Guerra have settled on a one-year, $937.5K deal to avoid arbitration. That figure comes in below Guerra’s $1.3MM projection. The right-hander enjoyed a nice bounce-back campaign with the Sox in 2014, pitching to a 2.91 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 46 1/3 innings.

The Nationals announced that they’ve avoided arbitration with Wilson Ramos, agreeing to a one-year deal for the 2015 season. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that Ramos will earn $3.55MM — slightly north of the $3.2MM projection from Swartz. The talented but injury-prone Ramos had a down year at the plate in 2014, batting .267/.299/.399 with 11 homers in 361 plate appearances.

Southpaw James Russell and the Braves have avoided arb by agreeing to a one-year, $2.425MM contract, tweets Heyman. Russell, whom the Braves acquired along with Emilio Bonifacio from the Cubs at last year’s trade deadline, will earn just $25K more than Swartz’s $2.4MM projection. The 29-year-old posted a combined 2.97 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 57 2/3 innings between Chicago and Atlanta in 2014.

Rangers VP of communications John Blake announced (on Twitter) that the club has avoided arbitration with right-hander Neftali Feliz by agreeing to a one-year deal. Feliz was projected to earn $4.1MM in 2015 after returning from Tommy John surgery to post a 1.99 ERA in 31 2/3 innings last season, and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that Feliz will earn almost exactly that: a $4.125MM salary.

Brett Cecil and the Blue Jays have avoided arbitration by settling on a one-year, $2.475MM pact, tweets Heyman. The 28-year-old Cecil has been excellent over the past two seasons in Toronto, pitching to a 2.76 ERA with 11.5 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9. He’s at times stepped up in the ninth inning as well, picking up six saves along the way. Cecil was projected to earn $2.6MM.

The Cardinals announced that they’ve avoided arb with catcher Tony Cruz by agreeing to a one-year deal. Cruz, 28, batted .200/.270/.259 in 150 PAs with the Cards last season. He currently projects to be the club’s primary backup to Yadier Molina. Cruz, who was projected by MLBTR to earn $700K in arbitration, will earn $775K, tweets Heyman.

The Cubs have avoided arbitration with lefty Felix Doubront by settling on a $1.925MM salary, Heyman tweets. Swartz had projected $1.3MM for the 27-year-old in his first time through the system, so his landing spot obviously represents a nice bump over that figure. Doubront came to Chicago last summer via trade after a rocky end to his time with the Red Sox. He made four generally productive starts for his new club, but figures to open 2015 in the pen while serving as rotation depth.

Houston has three catchers on the 40-man roster (not including Gattis) and has discussed trades of Carlos Corporan, Jason Castro and Dexter Fowler as well, according to Rosenthal. If either Corporan or Castro were to be moved, Hank Conger could split time with the remaining catcher, with Gattis filling in behind the plate sporadically. As far as a potential trade of Fowler, both George Springer and Jake Marisnick are capable of handling center field, and Fowler, of course, is in his final year of team control before reaching the open market.

Additionally, Rosenthal lists Chris Carter and Matt Dominguez as trade possibilities, noting that Gattis could fill the role of a right-handed DH/first baseman in Carter’s stead. The signing of Jed Lowrie gives Houston an option to play at third, should Domniguez be dealt. Rosenthal also adds that the Astros have some concern to how much they’ve thinned out their pitching depth (Foltynewicz, Nick Tropeano, Jarred Cosart and Jordan Lyles have all been traded in the past two offseasons), indicating that the Astros may prefer to acquire some young pitching should any of those bats be moved.